How to avoid payment for excess baggage?

I almost always travel with a large suitcase and never pay for the excess baggage. How do I do that? Read how to fit 40 kg in hand luggage and go through all the checks at the airport without any problems.

Pack the Baggage Properly

First of all you need to know how airlines count weight and size of luggage. There are two main options:

Calculation by weight. In this case, they just summarize weights of all your bags and get charge extra payment depending on the amount of extra kilos. Use the rule:

20 kg = free

10 kg + 15 kg = fee for 5 kg

Calculation by items. Now many airlines are moving to items system. In this case, weight and number of bags are considered. Use the rule:

23 kg = free

23 kg + 23 kg = fee for one extra bag

12 kg + 10 kg = fee for one extra bag

I have another rule for families who often put everything in one large suitcase. This 30+ kg suitcase could cost more than two 23 kg + 23 kg suitcases! So always try to have your bags 23 kg exactly.

But what if the bag is 23 kg already and there are still a lot of stuff? Put all heavy and small things into your hand luggage instead of excess baggage! And get ready to pass all obstacles on the way to your airplane.

Flight Check-In

The first and the most important thing is to finish check-in process and get boarding pass. Remember the rule. Do not let airline staff to weigh your carry-on luggage during check-in process!

Options how you can do that:

Ask friends to look after your bags while you check in with a single hand bag. This is the best option, because it doesn’t cause unnecessary suspicions and questions.

Leave the bag somewhere near you in view, but not too close, so airline employees don’t think that it’s your carry-on luggage.

Say that the bag near your feet is not your hand luggage. You just looking after your friend’s bag and ate not going to take it to the airplane.

In case your carry-on luggage has been weighed, and it’s too heavy, lay out a few things to a chair in a hall. Come back to check-in desk with the lighter bag, get your boarding pass and than return all the things back to the bag.

Possible Issues During Check-in:

Too many carry-on bags. In this case you can try to fit all the bags in one, even if it’s just a big plastic bag.

At least one dimension of carry-on baggage is bigger than allowed. I often fly with long freedive fins (90 cm length). It’s a risky item for carry-on baggage. Anyway I recommend don’t pay attention to this issue at check-in counter. Everything might be ok. If you want to be sure, you can just ask at check-in counter if they allow this type of carry-on baggage. Probably they could give you a special sticker for your bag.

By the way, all these issues can be avoided if you check-in online or at self-registration counters.

Pass Into Departure Zone

Usually after check-in you don’t have any issues with carry-on baggage. But sometimes employees of the airport don’t let you go into departure zone, because your carry-on bags don’t comply some restrictions.

Tags or stickers for each carry-on bag. This is a very troublesome problem. I bumped into it at Shanghai airport. I had 4 pieces of hand baggage and just one tag. With this set I couldn’t pass to departure zone. So I came back to three different check-in counters three times and said that I forgot to get a tag and I didn’t remember at which counter it had been. As for bulky bags, I always move tags from small bags to large ones.

Weight of each piece of carry-on baggage. Sometimes there are scales at the entrance to the departure zone. Airport staff ask to weight everything that looks big. I saw it at Mactan-Cebu airport. So I put the most heavy things into the smallest bag and lay out some of the things into plastic bags. The amount of bags is not important at this stage. The most important thing is the weight of bags that looks heavy.

The size and shape of carry-on baggage. In general carry-on baggage must fit easily in the carry-on baggage check (approximately 56x35x23 cm). These carry-on baggage check frames usually are located near the check-in counters and near the entrance to departure zone. Most often nobody cares. But once I was stopped at the entrance to departures in Hong Kong airport because of 90cm fins in hand luggage. So I had to solve this issue at check-in counter. They could give you special sticker or add this item to your checked baggage. In my case airline didn’t take extra charge for adding fins to my checked luggage.

Security Check

At this stage, airport staff is looking for prohibited items. They don’t check size and weight of your carry-on luggage. Feel free to go and don’t ask any questions.

Boarding: problems with size of carry-on baggage, but very rarely, mostly low-cost airline.

At each of the stages airport staff check compliance to some of the restrictions, but never all at once.

Table with information about size and weight restrictions for carry-on and checked baggage.

Airline

Carry-on size restrictions

Carry-on weight restrictions

Checked baggage weight restrictions

Checked baggage size restrictions (length + width + height)

Aeroflot

55x40x20 cm

10 kg

23 kg

158 cm

AirAsia

56x36x23 cm

7 kg

–

–

Air Berlin

55x40x23 cm

8 kg

23 kg

158 cm

Air France

55x35x25 cm

12 kg

23 kg

158 cm

American Airlines

56x36x23 cm

No restrictions

23 kg

158 cm

British Airways

56x45x25 cm

23 kg

23 kg

90x75x43 cm

Cathay Pacific Airways

56x36x23 cm

7 kg

20 kg

158 cm

China Southern Airlines

50x40x20 cm

5 kg

20 kg

158 cm

Delta

55x35x23 cm

No restrictions

23 kg

157 cm

Easyjet

50x40x20 cm

No restrictions

–

–

Emirates

55x38x20 cm

7 kg

30 kg

300 cm

Etihad Airways

40х50х21 cm

7 kg

30 kg

207 cm

German Wings

55x40x23 cm

8 kg

–

–

Iberia

56x45x25 cm

No restrictions

–

–

Japan Airlines

56x40x25 cm

10 kg

20 kg

120x60x50 cm

KLM

55x35x25 cm

12 kg

23 kg

158 cm

Korean Air

55x40x20 cm

12 kg

23 kg

158 cm

Lufthansa

55x40x23 cm

8 kg

23 kg

158 cm

Norwegian

55x40x23 cm

10 kg

20 kg

158 cm

Pobeda

handbag or briefcase

10 kg

158 cm

Qantas

56x36x23 cm

7 kg

30 kg или 23 kg

158 cm или 140 cm

Qatar

50х37х25 cm

7 kg

30 kg

300 cm

Ryanair

55x40x20 cm

10 kg

–

–

S7

55x40x20 cm

7 kg

23 kg

158 cm

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS)

55x40x23 cm

8 kg

23 kg

158 cm

Singapore Airlines

115 cm

7 kg

30 kg

200x75x80 cm

Sky Express

45x35x20 cm

6 kg

15 kg

TAM Airlines

55x40x20 cm

5 kg

23 kg

158 cm

Transaero

55x40x20 cm

10 kg

20 kg

203 cm

Turkish Airlines

55x40x23 cm

8 kg

20 kg

Vueling

55x40x20 cm

10 kg

–

–

Example from my life.

I moved from Moscow to Shanghai. According to the ticket fares, I had two pieces of luggage up to 23 kg free of charge, and 150 euros for each extra 23kg luggage. Moreover, if the weight or size of a bag was more than max (23 kg) I had to pay extra 50-150 euros per item. So the choice was clear: no more than three 23 kg items as a checked luggage. So my carry-on luggage included 4 bags, and the total weight was about 30-40 kg.

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